Son of The Watch
by Horsetamer5
Summary: AU! Being a teenager is not easy. Being the eldest adopted son of Jon Stark; Lord Commander of the Night's Watch? Now that is just asking for trouble. This fic has chapters containing corporal punishment. If that makes you uncomfortable, please don't read.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: In this AU, Senior Officers of the Watch are allowed to marry and have children. Also, Jon is a Stark. Jon and Ygritte cannot have children of their own, so they have adopted two children; Olly and Gared. **

Gared Stark was used to the taunts from other teenagers within Castle Black. He was the eldest adopted son of the Lord Commander. Many of the other boys took great joy in reminding Gared of his status; that he was not Jon Stark's natural son.

Gared could withstand those japes; what the 13-year-old could not resist, however, was the slander directed at the honor of his parents and his younger brother, Olly. That was when Gared's fists came out.

Most of Gared's fights were small dust-ups, scuffles that left no damage on himself or his opponent. So far, Gared managed to escape with a scolding and confinement to his room for the remainder of the day.

Today, however, was a whole different story. Gared was leaving his sword practice with Olly when they were cornered by one of Gared's training mates; a burly 15-year-old boy named Slynt.

"Well, if it isn't the two little rejects," Slynt taunted, moving to block the siblings' path. Sensing a possible fight, Gared gently positioned Olly so that his 12-year-old brother was out of harm's way.

"What's the matter, whelp?" Slynt asked. "Going to cry to your worthless father?"

"Out of our way, Slynt," Gared demanded. "I don't want to fight you."

"Ah, I know where you're going," Slynt continued. "You're going to find that wildling bitch mother of yours. That's all she is anyway, you bastard father's whore-"

His vision clouded with red, Gared reached over and grabbed a sword from the training rack. The teen charged at his opponent with a scream, his steel meeting Slynt's weapon.

The two boys attacked each other with frenzied blows, each trying to outdo the other. Through the rushing in his ears, Gared could hear his little brother screaming for him to stop. However, Gared was deaf to his brother's pleading; he only had one thing on his mind, making Slynt pay.

The reckless battle stopped abruptly when both boys were yanked apart and roughly thrown to the ground.

"What in Seven Fucking Hells do you boys think that you are doing?!" the voice of their weapon's master, "Frostfinger," roared out.

* * *

Jon Stark was reading over some paperwork when the door to his office flew open, and Frostfinger, the recruit training master, entered, dragging Gared and another boy with him. Olly was following meekly behind

"Shit," Jon thought, "What has Gared gotten into this time?"

"Found these two in the courtyard fightin' with live steel," Frostfinger said by way of greeting. "Your younger one was the only one to have his wits about him, kept screaming for them to stop."

"'Thought I'd bring your boys to you before I deal with Slynt here," Frostfinger continued.

Jon nodded his thanks to his subordinate. The Lord Commander kept silent, not trusting himself to speak for the rage that bubbled up in his chest.

Jon took a few deep, calming breaths before moving to kneel in front of Olly. His youngest was wide-eyed and trembling; dried tear tracks lined his face.

"Olly, I need you to go to our quarters and find mother," Jon commanded gently. "Can you do that for me?"

Olly nodded before running off to obey his father's command.

Now that they were alone, Jon rounded on his eldest.

"And I want **you** to sit over there and keep your mouth shut until I am calm enough to deal with you," he ordered Gared in a deathly quiet voice, pointing to bench in the corner of the room.

"Father," Gared ventured only to be met with a stinging smack across the mouth.

"I told you to sit down and shut up!" Jon roared. "You will obey me unless you want a thrashing now on top of what you have coming."

For the next few hours, the room was quiet except for Gared's occasional hiccups and cries.

Every so often, the boy would venture a glance at his father, only to be met with stony silence.

* * *

As evening settled over Castle Black, Jon finished reading over his last report and filed it away. He was calm now. Calm enough to deal with Gared.

"Gared, come here," Jon ordered, adjusting his chair so that he could face his errant son.

Gared obeyed, walking over to stand in front of his father.

Jon drew the boy to stand between his legs and took Gared's arms in a gentle but firm grip.

"Do you understand why I am so angry with you?" The Lord Commander asked.

Gared looked down and fidgeted nervously in his father's grasp.

"Gared Benjen Stark, when I ask a question, I expect an answer," Jon scolded, putting a stop to the teen's stalling.

"'Cause I got into a fight," Gared answered.

"The fact that you got into a fight is of least concern to me right now," Jon responded. "I am enraged that you handled a sword in anger and without any supervision! In front of your little brother no less! What kind of example do you think that is setting for Olly, eh?"

Gared just shrugged dismissively, causing his father's eyes to flare with anger.

"Well, I tried to talk to you as the young man that I thought you were," Jon said, his voice laced with disappointment. "However, your little display this morning and your current attitude tell me that you do not respect the privileges and independence afforded to a young man in training with The Watch."

Gared's head shot up at that statement.

"Father please-" he tried, letting out a yelp at a stinging swat to his backside.

"You had a chance for us to talk," Jon scolded, reaching a hand up to grip his defiant son's chin. "You squandered that chance. So, this is what is going to happen; I am going to treat you like the disobedient and impulsive child that you have shown me you are."

Gared continued to stare at his father in disbelief.

"First off, you have earned yourself a spanking for your recklessness today. You knew that all of the equipment was off-limits without Frostfinger, Pyp, or Grenn to supervise ya," Jon continued. He paused for a moment to let his words sink in before explaining the entirety of the punishment to his son.

"On that note, since you obviously cannot be left unattended; you will remain at mine or your mother's side for the foreseeable future. You will be required to ask permission to leave our side for anything, and if we feel that you cannot be trusted, someone will accompany you. Lastly, I have decided that you will no longer conduct night rounds on top of the wall with me. There are too many ways for a reckless little boy to get himself hurt up there."

"Father!" Gared whined. "This is a child's punishment!"

"Exactly why it is fitting based on how you acted today!" Jon replied in a raised voice. "You are treading on very thin ice, Gared Stark," he warned. "I was going to spank you every night for the next week but thought better of it. Believe me, however, if you don't stop this fussing at once, I will go with my original plan. You have certainly earned it."

A tense silence fell over the room as father and son took a moment to process all that was said.

Finally, Jon broke the quiet with a sigh.

"Alright, son, let's get this unpleasantness out of the way," he commanded matter-of-factly. "Britches and small clothes down. Over my knee."

Gared struggled in his father's arms before freeing himself and bolting towards the door.

"Gared, if you don't do as I say, you won't like the consequences," Jon warned, quickly catching his son around the waist and carrying the rebellious child back towards his desk.

The commander set the boy back on his feet and locked his arms about Gared's middle in an attempt to hold him still.

Gared continued to struggle, even going so far as to bite at his father. There was no way in seven hells that he was going to submit to his punishment meekly.

"Ah!" Jon yelled, feeling a sharp set of teeth sink into his hand. Fueled by pain and adrenaline, his hand shot out, and he swatted Gared's backside with all of his strength, effectively stunning to boy into submission for a few moments. Jon used this advantage and reached out to roughly strip the errant boy of his pants and underclothes. "I hope that was worth it to you, Gared, as you just added on to your punishment," Jon scolded.

"Now, You have until the count of three to obey me, or I make good on my original threat!"

Whether his father's threat had finally registered or Gared was just tiring; the boy obeyed.

The spanking seemed to drag on forever.

As it was his son's first real spanking, Jon was planning on solely using his hand. But it soon became apparent that he would need a firmer way to drive the message home, as Gared was simply too focused on evading the punishment and fighting his father's hold. So, near the end of the spanking, Jon picked up a discarded strap of leather and brought it down harshly against Gared's bottom. The boy let out a scream and threw his hand back in a feeble attempt to protect his backside. Jon paid the evasion no mind, merely bringing the strap down on Gared's hand until the teen had the good sense to move it away.

"You. Do. Not. Play. With. Swords!" The Lord Commander scolded; punctuating each word with a swat of the strap. "If I ever see or hear that you have put yourself in danger like you did today; I can guarantee sitting comfortably be a distant memory. Am. I. Clear?!"

"Y-yes, sir!" Gared wailed, unconsciously taking on a wildling accent in his distress. "Yer clear. Yer clear! No swords! Ah, swear it!"

Convinced that his son was adequately chastised, Jon allowed the boy to stand up. He placed the strap to the side and turned to comfort Gared.

But, to Jon's heartbreak and dismay, Gared was having none of it. Instead, the boy finished replacing his britches and turned to flee to the safety of his room.

* * *

Gared squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face against Ghost's belly, trying to stifle his sobs as he heard footsteps approaching his room. His backside was throbbing from the earlier spanking, and his chest was aching from hours of crying.

He kept his back turned and pretended to be asleep as the door to his room opened, and someone moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

A large, warm hand came to rest on Gared's back. It was his father.

"I am so sorry that I had to punish you today, son," Jon murmured. He knew that Gared wasn't genuinely asleep, but he'd play along with the charade if that was what the boy wanted. "I hope that we can put this behind us now and start anew tomorrow."

Gared fought the urge to leap into his father's arms; only the embarrassment of his earlier punishment prevented the boy from doing so.

"I love you so much, my precious son," Jon continued, leaning down to press a kiss to Gared's head. "Goodnight, little wolf. Have a good sleep," with that Jon moved to stand up.

No longer able to keep silent, Gared turned onto his other side. The boy let out a miserable keen as his hand shot out to grab his father's.

"Don' go!" Gared begged, panic seizing him. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Papa! Please don' leave me!"

"Hey now," Jon soothed, sitting back down on the bed. "I'm right here, son. I'm right here."

Gared appeared not to have heard him, and it was clear that the boy was having a full-blown panic attack. He was fighting between breathing and sobbing; face bright red as his chest heaved, and his lips began to take on a bluish tinge.

"Gared? Hey Gared, I need you to try and breathe for me," Jon instructed, hefting the boy into his lap.

Cradling his son as if he were no more than a babe, Jon made a fist and rubbed it firmly over Gared's sternum; hoping that the external stimuli would help to break the boy's cycle of panic. Ghost had hopped off the bed and was now pawing nervously at his master's leg.

"Alright, this isn't working," Jon muttered to himself as he stood up with Gared in his arms.

The Lord Commander intended to open one of the windows in the hope that the cold air would help to calm his troubled child.

However, as he began to make his way over to the window, Jon caught site of an old rocking chair sitting in the corner.

He moved to sit in the chair instead, using one foot to push against the floor to rock them. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

As he rocked Gared, Jon adjusted on of his hands so that he could gently pat the boy's bottom in a soothing rhythm. All of these factors helped to settle the teen, and he soon lay spent in his father's arms; his small chest jumped with occasional hiccups, but Gared was calm.

Jon waited a while longer before a draft passed through the room, causing both occupants to shudder.

"Stay?" Gared asked hesitantly as Jon stood up to find another blanket.

"Not goin' anywhere," the Lord Commander promised as he lay the teen down before swaddling him in two extra blankets for warmth.

Once he had Gared warm and secure, Jon stripped off his sword belt, cloak, and leather jerkin; leaving him in a soft tunic and pants. The young father then joined his son on the bed with the understanding that he would be spending the night there.

Jon barely had time to get settled before Gared moved to tuck himself against his father's side.

The boy took up a loose grip on his father's tunic, worrying the material between his fingers. Gared's free hand clenched and unclenched as he was pulled closer and closer to sleep.

Those actions, coupled with the small sounds that the boy made as he settled, caused Jon's heart to warm with paternal affection for his eldest.

"Gared might be three and ten; nearing a man grown, but underneath all his posturing, he is still just a child," Jon thought. "I often seem to forget that."

The sound of the bedroom door opening drew Jon out of his thoughts. Looking over, the Lord Commander met the gaze of his wife, Ygritte.

"Shh," Jon greeted, indicating to the sleeping boy at his side. "I just got him to sleep."

Ygritte smiled in understanding as she walked over to sit next to her husband.

"Yer sleepin' 'ere tonight, I'm guessing?" Ygritte asked.

"I think that I should," Jon answered. "This whole incident has taken its toll on Gared. He just spent the last hour and a half begging me not to leave him. I fear that if he wakes up alone, he'll panic again and hurt himself.

Ygritte just nodded solemnly.

"Well, I'm just glad that you got things sorted with him. I don't know how much longer I would've been able to deal with that wounded look in his eyes. Gods, I know he deserved that smacking, but I didn't think it'd be so hard to see the aftermath."

That said, she leaned over to kiss her husband before reaching a hand out to stroke her son's hair. Gared stirred slightly but did not wake.

"I'll look in on Olly again before I settle in for th' night," Ygritte promised as she stood up and began to make her way out of the room. "You two get some sleep."

"We will," Jon promised.

Sharing one more loving glance with her husband, Ygritte turned and quietly closed the door.

Jon adjusted his hold on Gared and closed his eyes before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: In this AU, Senior Officers of the Watch are allowed to marry and have children. Also, Jon is a Stark. Jon and Ygritte cannot have children of their own, so they have adopted two children; Olly and Gared. **

Jon Stark sat in the common area of his house, cradling his eldest son, Gared, to his chest. The entire house was quiet, his youngest son, Olly and his wife Ygritte had long retired to bed.

Earlier in the day, Gared was running down a set of stairs in the courtyard, playing tag with his friends when a boy named Britt pushed him down the stairs.

Jon shuddered at the memory of being summoned to the infirmary.

* * *

The Lord Commander entered the infirmary to find his trainee commander, Frostfinger holding Gared in his arms. The usually stoic 13-year-old was sobbing in his mentor's arms; his pale face a mask of agony.

Samwell, Castle Black's maestor, and one of Jon's best friends was moving around the room, setting up the necessary supplies to treat the wounded boy.

"What happened?" Jon asked, making his way over and reaching out so that Frostfinger could transfer Gared into his father's arms.

Gared let out a small, sharp, scream, as his arm jostled but quickly settled at the familiarity of his father's hold.

"Gared, Cotter, and Finn were racing up and down the stairs that lead up from the training yard," Frostfinger explained. "We'd finished training for the day, but they were still all riled up; so I suggested that they run it off. I only caught the moments before the incident, but from what I saw, that new boy, Britt appeared out of nowhere and pushed Gared down the last four stairs.

The impact knocked the poor lad out, which was a blessing considering the state of his arm. He came to while I was carrying him up here, and he's been cryin' ever since."

Jon's heart sank at the mention of his son's attacker. Britt was a new recruit of the Watch. He was two years older than Gared, and he seemed to take sadistic pleasure in tormenting the boy and his friends.

Britt was becoming increasingly volatile towards Gared; to the point that measures were taken to keep the boys separated. Despite this, Britt somehow managed to get his hands on the elder Stark boy. He could have killed Gared, and that thought alone made Jon's blood boil.

"What is being done with Britt?" The Lord Commander asked, his voice dangerously low.

"The little brat is getting a proper thrashing, and he's been moved to Grenn's quarters so that someone can keep an eye on 'im at all times. He'll be in full lockdown for a week. Grenn is planning to thrash him every day of his confinement.

Britt will be living with Grenn for the foreseeable future since the kid can't be trusted to be on his own."

"Good," Jon responded coldly. "Grenn doesn't take shit from anyone, least of all a bratty little kid. If anyone can straighten Britt out, it'll be him."

"A-am I in trouble?" Gared asked, trepidation lacing his voice as he caught the barely contained rage in his father's voice.

"Not at all, son," Jon assured, quickly gentling his tone. "Britt is the one at fault for this, and he is being punished."

"I promise ya, lad, that boy won't be going anywhere near you or your friends after Grenn's done with him. He's got the kid under lock and key," Frostfinger assured, usually stern voice gentle as he placed a hand on Gared's good arm. "And if Britt does up being stupid enough to harass you, he'll have Grenn, your father, and me to answer to."

When Sam was ready to set Gared's arm, he directed Jon to lay the boy on the table.

"Now, I'll need you both to hold Gared down while I set this," Sam explained. "I've given him a sedative, but when I push the bone back in, the pain may be so great that he wakes up. We cannot afford to have him start thrashing in the middle of the procedure."

Jon nodded and moved to take a firm hold of Gared's left shoulder; Frostfinger did the same on the right.

All seemed to be going well, and Jon began to think that Gared would remain sedated. Then, Sam pushed the bone back into the open wound, and Gared awoke with a piercing scream.

Jon felt like an utter monster holding his son down as the boy cried and begged.

"It hurts! Make it stop! I'll be good! Just make it stop!" the 13-year-old wailed.

"You are good, son," Jon assured, leaning down to kiss Gared's forehead. "You're so good. We're almost done."

The rest of the procedure was a blur, and soon Jon was back at the house where he and Ygritte could properly fuss over their eldest.

* * *

To combat the pain, Jon and Ygritte were dosing their eldest with Milk of the Poppy. Gared was working through the medication faster than he could safely take it. So, the boy spent the last hour between doses, crying until he passed out from exhaustion.

When it was time to retire for bed, Ygritte suggested that they take shifts staying up with Gared to help him through the pain and fear that his injury produced.

So, here they were; Jon staring into the dying embers in the hearth as he listened to the howl of wolves beyond the wall. He wanted to ensure that Gared was truly asleep before attempting to move them. Jon only recently managed to lull the 13-year-old into a restless sleep, and there was no way that he was disturbing Gared.

Another half-hour of steady rocking assured Jon that his boy was well and truly asleep. So, he moved to swaddle Gared in a blanket before carrying him down the hall and into the master bedroom.

Ygritte looked up as her husband entered the room; the sound of footsteps in the hallway waking her out of a light doze.

"Ya got him to sleep?" She asked in amazement.

"More like he cried himself into unconsciousness," Jon responded quietly, laying down on the bed next to his wife and settling his son against his chest. "But he fell asleep all the same."

"Well, at least he'll get some sleep before we need to dose him again," Ygritte commented, adjusting so that her head was resting on Jon's shoulder.

"I got a few hours of sleep in," she continued. "Why don't you try to get some rest? I'll dose Gared in an hour and stay up with him."

"If you insist," Jon replied. "Wake me if he gets too upset, or he won't take the medicine," with that, the Lord Commander settled one arm around his wife's shoulders and the other across his son's back. Soon he too was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:This chapter contains corporal punishment. If that makes you uncomfortable, please don't read. As always, reviews are appreciated.**

**The song in this chapter is: The Song of the White Wolf from The Witcher OST**

It was only mid-morning, and Jon Stark was already tiring of his eldest son's mood.

Gared seemed to make it his personal mission to push his luck with anyone and everyone that he came in contact with today.

Just a few moments ago, Ygritte entered her husband's office to inform him that their son had been sent home from his lessons for acting up in the training yard.

* * *

Jon entered the house and found Gared sitting at the kitchen table, arms crossed and staring defiantly straight ahead.

Ygritte was the first to approach the teen, cuffing him upside the head.

"Ah, thought I told ya to find a corner an' stand there!" The red-haired woman scolded, before taking hold of her son's arm. She half carried, half dragged him to a corner of the room, and pushed him to stay there.

Gared murmured something under his breath, causing Ygritte to pop him across the mouth. "Gods, you are acting foul today! I oughtta take some lye to your mouth for speakin' to me like that!" She growled before turning to walk back to Jon.

"I'll deal with him," the Lord Commander promised. "Can you keep Olly occupied until this evening? I have a feelin' that this discussion with Gared is going to be a long one."

At the sound of his father's voice, Gared turned from the corner, his eyes wide and his face pale. Jon shot the boy a withering glare, and Gared quickly turned away.

"I'll see you this evening, then," Ygritte agreed, kissing her husband.

She then addressed Gared, "And Gods help you if you haven't straightened out by the time I return, young man!"

The door to the house closed, leaving father and son in silence.

* * *

Jon sat down at the table and pulled out a few letters. The commander wanted to give his son time to think about his behavior; and since Jon doubted that he would be going back to his office for the remainder of the day, this seemed like an excellent opportunity to get some work done.

After a while, Gared began to fuss from his place in the corner. The 13-year-old started to rock from side to side. When that did not get his father's attention, Gared started rocking onto his heels, using the wall for leverage.

"Unless you want to make this worse for yourself, I'd suggest you stop that," Jon warned in a low voice without looking up.

"Make me," Gared sneered under his breath. He immediately regretted the statement when he heard his father's chair roughly push back from the table. Before he could truly comprehend what was going on, Gared felt his father's hand take his arm in a vice-like grip, and a barrage of painful swats were laid down on his backside. It was clear to Gared that his father was pissed as he was putting his full strength behind each blow.

Just as suddenly as it happened, the spanking stopped. Jon then pushed Gared so that his nose was touching the wall.

"Stand like that, and don't move until I give you leave to," Jon ordered before walking into the other room.

Too stunned to do anything but obey; Gared stood with his nose to the corner until his father returned.

A tense silence descended over the room before Jon ordered Gared to him.

Gared obeyed, and he soon found himself in his father's iron grip.

"Your behavior last evening, and this morning has been absolutely deplorable," Jon scolded. "I gave you a pass last night because I knew you were exhausted, and I hoped that you would wake in a better mood today. I was even willing to let your attitude towards me go with just a scolding; that was until you got sent home from your lessons and decided to cop an attitude with your mother."

Gared tried to pull out of his father's grasp. He didn't like where this was going.

"You've earned yourself a sound spanking, Gared," Jon continued. "Hopefully, this will be an incentive to change your attitude."

That said, the Lord Commander hooked an arm around his son before stripping the boy of his britches and underclothes.

Jon silently positioned Gared over his knee and began the spanking.

The room was quiet, save for the sound of swats and Gared's tears.

The boy fought at first, trying to jerk out his father's hold. He even went so far as to shoot a fist out in a weak punch against Jon's hip. But Jon just took a firm grip of his rebellious son's arms and pinned them to his back.

"Now, do you want to tell me why you have been acting like a bratty little boy instead of the young man that I know you are?" The Lord Commander asked, breaking his silence.

"D-do-don't know!" Gared wailed. "Please, father! Stop!"

"Yes, you do know," Jon countered, increasing the strength of the swats and aiming for the tops of Gared's thighs. "and if you keep lying to me, I'll take my belt to ya. It's your decision, son."

"You an' mom love Olly more than me! YOU DON'T LOVE ME ANYMORE!" Gared bellowed before collapsing over his father's lap in a fit of violent sobs.

Jon immediately stopped the spanking and, in one fluid motion, lifted Gared, cradling the teen against his chest.

Gared tangled his hands in his father's uniform and continued to wail like a babe against Jon's shoulder.

"Oh, Gare," Jon murmured, tucking the boy's head under his chin. "Of course, mother and I love you. What in the world would make ya think otherwise?"

"Olly is good," Gared answered, calming a bit. "I'm not good like him. T-that's w-why you punish me. Y-you hug him, give him baths, tell him stories, and cuddle him," Jon's heart broke at hearing his eldest boy's admission. Gared was so distressed that he regressed into a younger state of mind. The boy only did this after a major emotional meltdown.

Jon wanted desperately to say something to assure his son but forced himself to remain silent. It was clear that the teen needed to get his feelings out.

"Y-you g-gi-give Olly cuddles 'cause he's good. Y-you jus' scold me an' I spank me. B-but I w-want cuddles, hugs, and stories. I-I only get cuddles after a spanking.

I-I can be good! Promise! Jus' love me like you love Olly!" Gared burst into a renewed fit of sobs.

Jon tightened his grip around the teen, rubbing a soothing hand down Gared's back.

"Gods, have I been so neglectful that my child would take a thrashing just to get comfort after?" Jon thought. "I'll do whatever it takes to set this right."

"Shh, Shh, "Jon hushed, patting Gared's back in a soothing rhythm until his eldest settled into sporadic hiccups.

Once the boy was calm, Jon crooked a finger under Gared's chin and directed the boy to meet his gaze.

"Now I want you to listen to me very closely, little wolf," the Lord Commander instructed. "I love you just as much as I love Olly. You are older than he is, and I have started treating you as a young man. But, in doing so, I did not take into consideration how my actions would make you feel, and for that, I am truly sorry."

Gared just nodded, still matching his father's gaze as he leaned against Jon's leather-clad chest.

"You don't need to earn yourself a spanking to get comfort. Mother and I have been giving you space because you are maturing into a man, and we thought that independence was what you wanted. But clearly, we were wrong.

You'll always be our baby boy, Gare. If you want a hug, or to spend some quiet time with us, all ya have to do is ask, got it?"

"Got it," Gared responded. "'m so sorry, father."

"Oh my boy," Jon murmured. "My sweet, good, little boy; I'll never stop loving you."

Gared just slumped against his father's chest, clearly exhausted by his punishment and the resulting emotional upheaval.

Jon lifted his son slightly to correct his small clothes and pants before tucking Gared under his cloak.

"Why don't you lay down and rest for a bit while I finish up some work?" Jon suggested.

"We can go in the training yard and spar later if you feel up to it."

"T-take a nap a-alone?" Gared asked, hesitantly.

"If you want to," Jon answered. "If not, you can rest in my room, and I can work in there."

"S-stay please," Gared requested, clearly too exhausted to form complete sentences. "D-don't wanna have b-bad dreams."

Jon responded by standing up and lifting Gared into his arms; settling the boy on his hip as if he were no more than a toddler.

There were very few occasions when Gared regressed like this.

"If he wants to be treated as if he is three rather than 13, I'm in no position to refuse," Jon thought as he walked down the hall.

* * *

Gared was nearly asleep when Jon placed him on the large bed.

Ghost was asleep near the fireplace but awoke when they entered the room. The white Direwolf hopped up onto the bed and curled around Gared; taking up a protective vigil of his "pup."

Jon sat on the edge of the bed and met his son's gaze.

Gared tiredly reached out and took hold of his father's hand.

Jon got the unspoken message and placed his hand on Gared's back.

"You want a song or a story to help you fall asleep?" The Lord Commander asked.

"Song, please," The teen answered.

"The call of the White Wolf is loudest at the dawn," Jon began softly, patting his eldest son's back to settle the boy. Gared let out a content sigh, recognizing his favorite song.

"The call of a stone heart is broken and alone

Born of Kaer Morhen

Born of No Love

The song of the White Wolf is cold as driven snow

Bear not your eyes upon him lest steel or silver draw," Jon continued.

"Lay not your breast against him or lips to ease his roar

For the song of the White Wolf will always be sung alone

For the song of the White Wolf will always be sung alone

Cast not your eyes upon him, lest he kiss you with his sword

Lay not your heart against him or your lips to ease his roar

For the song of the White Wolf, we'll always sing alone

For the song of the White Wolf, we'll always sing alone,"

Jon finished the ballad to find that both his son and his Direwolf were fast asleep. He leaned down to place a kiss to Gared's baby-soft hair before moving to his desk to finish the day's work.


End file.
